The present invention is directed to the application of postage and delivery information to a parcel. More particularly, the invention is directed to printing postage and delivery information on a sheet of paper or other print media and then wrapping the contents of the parcel in the sheet.
Most hard copy business correspondence is printed on standard size paper that must be folded to fit into a standard size business envelope. Folding the paper detracts from the professional look of the document, especially for larger or customized documents and documents containing printed images or letterhead with seals on it. Printing delivery information on the envelopes for larger or customized documents often requires manually adjusting the printer to accommodate oversized or customized envelopes. Many printers require manual intervention simply to print standard envelopes and print quality on the envelopes is often substandard since the printers are optimized for printing on flat media without creases or folds. Depending on the type of envelope and printer, it is often necessary to print the delivery information on a label and then affix the label to the envelope.
In the case of an envelope type parcel, delivery information is usually printed on the envelope before the contents are inserted. In the case of a box type parcel, delivery information is usually printed on an adhesive label and the label affixed to the parcel. In either case, the parcel is weighed and, based on the size and weight of the parcel, postage is applied to the parcel manually by affixing stamps to the parcel or automatically by a postage metering machine that prints the postage on the parcel. For larger parcels that will not fit through the metering machine, a postage label is printed and then manually affixed to the parcel. Manually applying postage is inefficient and costly in a business environment in which many parcels are posted. Metering large parcels is equally inefficient because the printed postage label must be manually affixed to the parcel. Flat standard size business envelopes are easy to meter, but metering large or bulky envelopes can be difficult especially with the general purpose metering machines used by most small and mid-size businesses. Mail room staff often resort to printed postage labels for large or bulky envelopes rather than fighting to squeeze the upper right hand corner of the envelope into the metering machine.
The present invention was developed in an effort to provide parcel packaging that meets the dual need of preserving the size and shape of the document or other contents while facilitating the application of delivery information and postage to the packaging.
Accordingly, one embodiment the present invention is directed to a mailing wrapper comprising a flat sheet of paper or other print media having delivery information and postage printed thereon. Another embodiment is directed to a method of forming a mailing wrapper by simultaneously printing delivery information and postage on a sheet of print media. The first embodiment covers a wrapper and requires a flat sheet of paper, but it doesn""t matter if the delivery information and postage are printed at the same time or not. The second embodiment covers a method used to form a wrapper and requires simultaneously printing the delivery information and the postage, but does not require a flat sheet of paper.